2026 TWBL Rulebook

General Rules

All players will respect and adhere to the rules of TWBL and conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike fashion. Taunting, berating, or other disrespectful conduct towards opponents or the commissioner will not be tolerated. Any violations may result in an ejection from the game. Formal protests can be made to the commissioner. Judgment calls cannot be protested. Calls by the commissioner will be final. Rules not stated herein will follow the rules of Major League Baseball. And lastly, live your backyard wiffle ball dreams to the fullest and have fun.

Equipment

The ball may be scuffed, sanded, or knifed, but will be declared illegal and removed from play if it meets any of the following conditions:

• Foreign substances have been added.
• It has a crack longer than ¼ inch.

Big barrel bats—Moonshots, Whatabats, etc.—are allowed so long as the size of the barrel is within reason. The legality of a bat is up to the discretion of the commissioner.

Teams and Rosters

• A maximum of 4 players (1 pitcher and 3 fielders) may take the field at one time, but players may be rotated in and out of positions throughout the game.

• There is no maximum batting lineup length.

• The batting order must remain constant throughout the entire game, with the exception of batters being skipped due to them having to leave. Batting out of order will result in an out.

• Once a pitcher exits the game, he may not re-enter to pitch; however, he can play another position.

• Other substitution matters will follow the rules of Major League Baseball.

The Game

Texas Wiffle Ball League games will last 4 innings. If a game reaches the 40-minute mark, the current inning will be deemed the last inning. If teams are tied at the end of 4 innings the winner will be determined on total bases. 

Default or Standard Rules

• Each team receives 3 outs per inning.
• Fouls are unlimited unless a foul tip with two strikes hits the strike zone, in which case the batter will be out.
• There is no physical baserunning. All baserunners will be imaginary or "ghosts." There is no stealing.
• Fair and foul balls adhere to standard baseball rules.
• The pitch count is 4 balls to a walk and 3 strikes to a strikeout.

Caught-Looking

If, at any point, the batter watches a called strike, he is deemed out via a "caught-looking" strikeout. 

Mercy Rule

The mercy rule is 20 runs after 1 complete inning, 15 runs after 2 innings, and 10 runs after 3 innings. If a team's lead satisfies these differentials at the end of a complete inning, that team is deemed the winner.

Hits

• For an out to be recorded in any scenario, the ball must be fielded "cleanly." This means a batted ball that is dropped by a fielder and hits the ground will be ruled a hit. However, if the ball is bobbled in the air but never touches the ground, an out may still be recorded. All infield pop-ups that hit the ground are considered a dropped ball, and no outs will be recorded. An infield pop-up is defined as a batted ball that reaches an apex height clearing the outfield fence while remaining within the infield.
• A ground ball that comes to a complete stop inside the infield baselines is ruled an infield single.
• A batted ball that gets past all eligible infielders (see below) and does not reach the fence is ruled an outfield single. Infielders may attempt to make plays on deep ground balls, provided the ball is fielded within the general infield area and the throw is made in a timely manner. As a general guideline, an infielder may make a play on a ground ball as long as they have not fully turned their back while pursuing it. The reasonableness of such plays is determined at the commissioner’s discretion.
• A batted ball that rolls or bounces into the fence is ruled a double. This includes balls deflected by fielders that hit the fence after touching the ground at some point. 
• A batted ball that hits the wall in the air is ruled a triple. This includes balls deflected by fielders that hit the fence without touching the ground at any point.
• A batted ball that flies over the outfield fence in fair territory is ruled a home run. This includes balls deflected by fielders that clear the fence without touching the ground at any point and balls that hit the top of the wall before going over.

Tagging Up

With runners on second and/or third base and less than 2 outs, a team may attempt to advance those runners by tagging up on a fly ball or pop-up. When the ball is in the air, the offensive team can yell “TAG” to activate the runners. If the fielder who catches the fly ball throws and hits the backstop or strike zone in the air (see the Infield Throwing Outs section for what counts as the backstop and strike zone), the lead runner will be out. If the throw is not successfully made, runners on second and/or third will advance one base. The throw to the zone or backstop must be made within a reasonable time. In general, the fielder is allotted 2-3 seconds or 1-2 shuffles to make a throw. The timeliness of this throw is adjudicated by a commissioner or the batting team if no commissioner is present. New this season: The defense may choose to deploy a cutoff man on tag up attempts. To use a cutoff man, the fielder who catches the batted ball throws it to another defender covering second base. If that other defender throws and successfully hits the strike zone, just like on a triple play, the lead runner will be out. If the throw from the cutoff man misses the strike zone, the runners on second and/or third will advance one base.

Total Bases

Total bases are determined by the outcome of the batter’s plate appearance. The batter does not earn a base when he reaches via a walk or fielder’s choice. There are no errors in TWBL; a "dirty" hit grants the same total bases as a clean hit.

• Homerun = 4 bases
• Triple= 3 bases
• Double = 2 bases
• Single = 1 base

The Pitcher

In general, the pitcher is allowed 3 minutes before the start of his first inning to warm up and 90 seconds between innings. He receives no warmups if he decides to change balls on his own during an inning. Relief pitchers entering the game will get the same 3 minutes for warm-up pitches if they need them.

• A pitcher must start his wind-up from the pitching rubber. The pitcher must have one foot over the rubber when he releases the ball. If the ball is thrown in violation of this rule, it will be ruled “no pitch." Repeated violations may result in the pitcher being removed from the game.
• A pitcher entering the game must face 1 complete batter before being replaced.
• A wild pitch will be declared whenever a pitched ball completely misses and breaks the plane of the backstop without hitting the target, strike zone, batter, or the bat. All base runners will advance one base on a wild pitch.
• There are no called balks in wiffle ball. However, the pitcher is not allowed to intentionally deceive the batter by balking. As a general guideline, so long as the pitcher makes eye contact with the batter and lifts his front foot before throwing, the pitch will be considered legal. The reasonableness of a pitch is determined at the commissioner's discretion.

Pitch Speed Limits

• The speed limit for pitchers is 60 MPH. The batting team is responsible for enforcing this rule.
• For pitches clocked between 60 and 65 MPH, the batting team will have the option to deem the pitch a "no pitch" or keep the result.
• For pitches above 65 MPH, the batting team will have the option to deem the pitch an automatic ball or keep the result.
• New this season: The batting team does not need to wait until the play is over to call out a pitch for being too fast. They may call it out whenever, and it is up to the defense to finish the play, knowing that the batting team can choose to keep the result. 

The Batter

The batter may not intentionally move into the path of a pitch. If he does, a warning will be issued on the first instance and will result in a "no-pitch." Subsequent infractions will be called for batter’s interference, and the pitch will be called a strike. The warning remains with that batter for the remainder of the game.

• Bunting is not allowed.
• If the pitch hits the batter (including on the hand, wrist, or arm) and he does not swing, the pitch will be ruled a ball. 
• If the pitch hits the batter and he does swing, the pitch will be ruled a dead ball strike. Like in baseball, dead ball strikes are not foul balls; a batter can strike out on a dead ball strike.
• If the pitch hits the knob or handle of the bat, the pitch will be ruled to have hit the bat and normal fair and foul rules will apply. 
• The batter will not touch foul balls until they come to a complete stop. If the batter does touch a moving foul ball and the ball is determined to have a chance of rolling into fair territory, the batter will be ruled out. 
• If the batter is standing in front of the backstop and/or strike zone and is hit by a fielder’s throw while the ball is in the air, the fielding play will be deemed successful.

Base Runners

There is no physical base running. Base runners are imaginary and move as follows:

• One base on a single
• Three bases on a double and triple. Said differently, extra base hits ALWAYS clear the bases.
• With two outs, all runners advance one extra base on an outfield single. Infield singles are not awarded the extra base. To be clear, balls deflected by an eligible infielder (see below) that roll into the outfield will be considered an outfield single and the extra base will be awarded. Balls deflected by an eligible infielder that stay in the general infield area will be ruled an infield single and the extra base will not be awarded.

Fielders and Double Plays

All fielders must start in fair territory and may not line up in any manner to distract the batter.

Positioning of Eligible Infielders

• Fielders must be positioned within the general infield area to be eligible to field a ground ball for an out. This position must be established before the pitch is released from the pitcher’s hand. The general infield area is defined as extending approximately five feet behind the base paths, as if there were an imaginary infield dirt boundary. 
• Fielders not within the general infield area at pitch release are not considered eligible infielders and may not field ground balls for outs. However, outfielders may run in to field a ground ball to prevent it from advancing further. If an outfielder stops the ball within the infield baselines, the hit is ruled an infield single. To be clear, unlike infielders, outfielders do not get the leniency of the "general infield area." 
• The batting team is responsible for adjudicating whether a fielder was positioned correctly before the pitch was released.
• For the purposes of ground ball rules, the pitcher is also considered to be an eligible infielder.

Infield Throwing Outs

An out is recorded when a ball is thrown towards home plate and hits the backstop or strike zone in the air. In addition to the backstop net, the entire backstop frame that is perpendicular to the ground counts as the backstop. This means that the bottom bar and the holes between the bar and the net are considered to be the backstop, whereas the outside legs are not. The strike zone metal and its frame (not the base or the diagonal legs) are considered to be the strike zone. Even though zip tie "tails" should be tucked behind the strike zone and out of reach from the ball, if the ball happens to hit a zip tie, the ball will be considered to have hit the strike zone. In general, the infielder is allotted 2-3 seconds or 1-2 shuffles to release the throw. The timeliness of throwing outs is determined by the offense.

Double Plays

A successful double play is performed in three main parts:

1. A ground ball is cleanly fielded by an eligible infielder (the fielding player).
2. The ball is tossed or thrown to another player (the receiving player) standing on second base.
3. The player who received the ball throws from second base, hitting the backstop or strike zone in the air. New this season: Shuffles towards the backstop are not allowed on this throw. A shuffle will be considered a failed play.

An outfielder who is not considered to be an eligible infielder is still allowed to be a part of double plays as the receiving player, but they cannot be the fielding player (step 1). 

• If the receiving player fails to get the out at home, one out is recorded for the batter and the lead, forced runner is safe at the next base.

• The fielding player may perform an “unassisted” double play if he is on or near the base when the ball is fielded. At this point, he also becomes the receiving player.

• If the initial ground ball is bobbled up in any fashion, the fielder can still complete the out at home like normal, but the possibility for a double play is negated. If the throw or toss to the receiving player at second base is dropped or bobbled, all runners are safe and the batter is credited with an infield single. To be clear, this is a stricter bobble interpretation than normal ground balls. 

• Successful double plays will always record an out for the lead, forced runner. For example, with the bases loaded and less than two outs, a successful double play will record an out at home and an out at first for the batter. The remaining ghost runners will reside at second and third base.

• With two outs, double plays may not be performed. Though this may seem obvious, teams may not get the final out of an inning using the fielding and tossing parts of a typical double play.

Triple Plays

A successful triple play is performed in four main parts:

1. A groundball is cleanly fielded by an eligible infielder (the fielding player).
2. The fielding player throws the ball to another fielder who is covering third base (the first receiving player) to record the first of 3 outs. If the fielding player is in the vicinity of third base when fielding the ground ball, he is allowed to step on third base himself to record an out. As a general rule of thumb, if the batted ball takes the fielding player away from third base, he cannot step on third base himself.
3. The fielder on third base (whether that's the fielding player or the first receiving player) must then throw to second base where any other fielder (the second receiving player) is positioned to receive the throw, similar to how a double play is turned. This second receiver must cleanly catch the ball thrown from third.
4. The second receiving player then must execute a throw home, without a shuffle, that hits the strike zone in order for a triple play to be recorded. If the ball misses the strike zone but hits the backstop, a double play is recorded. Missing the backstop completely will result in a failed triple play and an out will only be recorded for the batter.

As with double plays, an outfielder who is not considered to be an eligible infielder is allowed to be a part of triple plays as either receiving player, but they cannot be the fielding player (step 1). 

• If the throw home misses the strike zone but hits the backstop, a double play is recorded. Missing the backstop completely will result in a failed triple play and an out will only be recorded for the batter. all of the above steps are completed in a timely fashion with clean fielding and receiving, the fielding team will be awarded three outs and the inning will be over.

• Like with double plays, if the initial ground ball is bobbled up in any fashion, the fielder can still complete the out at home like normal, but the possibility for a triple play is negated. If the throw or toss to the receiving players at third or second base is dropped or bobbled, all runners are safe and the batter is credited with an infield single. To be clear, this is a stricter bobble interpretation than normal ground balls. 

• The timeliness of a triple play will be assessed like a double play with slightly more grace for the added step.

Who makes the call?

• Fair/Foul: Batter

• Hit by pitches: Batter

• Singles, doubles, and triples: Fielder closest to the ball

• Check swings: Pitcher

• Batter’s interference: Pitcher

• Determining the timeliness of “TAG” calls: Offense

• Whether a thrown ball hits the backstop/strike zone (on tag ups and infield ground balls) and the timeliness of the throw: Offense

• Wild Pitch: Offense

• Legal Pitch: Offense

• Infield Positioning: Batter